U.S. Department of Education Releases Guidance
on Civil Rights of Students with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of
Education released three new sets of guidance today to assist
the public in understanding how the Department interprets and enforces federal
civil rights laws protecting the rights of students with
disabilities. These guidance documents clarify the rights of students with
disabilities and the responsibilities of educational institutions in ensuring
that all students have the opportunity to learn.

“These guidance
documents share information with our full school communities – educators,
parents, and students – about important educational rights,
including school obligations to identify, evaluate, and serve
students with disabilities,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, the Department's assistant secretary for civil rights. “Vigilant attention to the rights of students with disabilities
will help ensure fair treatment for every student and that every
student has equal access to educational programs and has an
opportunity to experience success.”

The Parent
and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary
Schools, issued by
the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), provides a broad overview
of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). The guidance
describes school districts’ nondiscrimination responsibilities, including
obligations to provide educational services to students with disabilities, and
outlines the steps parents can take to ensure that their children secure all of the services they are entitled to receive.

Among other things, the Section
504 Parent and Educator Resource Guide:

Defines
and provides examples to illustrate the meaning of key terms used in Section
504.

Highlights
requirements of Section 504 in the area of public elementary and secondary
education, including provisions related to the identification, evaluation, and
placement of students with disabilities, and procedures for handling disputes
and disagreements between parents and school districts.

The second guidance package
released by OCR addresses the circumstances under
which use of restraint or seclusion can result in discrimination against
students with disabilities, in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
Department’s May 15, 2012, Restraint and
Seclusion: Resource Documentsuggested best
practices to prevent the use of restraint or seclusion, recommending that
school districts never use physical restraint or seclusion for disciplinary
purposes and never use mechanical restraint, and that trained school officials
use physical restraint or seclusion only if a child’s behavior poses imminent
danger of serious physical harm to self or others. The DCL and question and
answer documentreleased today
offer additional information about the legal limitations on use of restraint or
seclusion to assist school districts in meeting their obligations to students
with disabilities.

The third guidance package
released today was developed by OCR and the Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). The jointly-issued
Dear Colleague Letter and question and answer documents
will help update educators, parents, students, and other
stakeholders to better understand the rights of students with
disabilities in public charter schools under Section 504 and IDEA. These
documents provide information about how to provide equal opportunity in
compliance with Section 504 in key areas such as charter school recruitment,
application, admission, enrollment and disenrollment, accessibility of
facilities and programs, and nonacademic and extracurricular
activities. The documents are responsive to the U.S.
Government Accountability Office’s 2012 report, Charter Schools:
Additional Federal Attention Needed to Help Protect Access for Students with
Disabilities, which
included the recommendation that the Department
issue updated guidance on the obligations of charter schools.

“It is critical to ensure that
children with disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education
in charter schools,” said Sue Swenson, delegated the authority to perform the
functions and duties of the Department's assistant secretary for special education and
rehabilitative services. “These guidance documents are designed to support
states, local education agencies, and charter school personnel to understand
their responsibilities under IDEA and Section 504.”

Emphasizes
that children with disabilities who attend charter schools and their parents
retain all rights and protections under Part B of IDEA (such as FAPE) just as
they would at other public schools.

Provides
that under IDEA a charter school may not unilaterally limit the services that
must be provided a particular student with a disability.

Reminds
schools that the least restrictive environment provisions require that, to the
maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities attending
public schools, including public charter schools, be educated
with students who are nondisabled.

Clarifies that students with
disabilities attending charter schools retain all IDEA rights and protections
included in the IDEA discipline procedures.

In addition to
these documents, the Department also released a Know
Your Rights document designed
for parents to provide a brief overview of the rights
of public charter school students with disabilities and the legal
obligations of charter schools under Section 504 and the IDEA.

The mission of
OCR is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational
excellence throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil
rights. Among the federal civil rights laws OCR is responsible for enforcing
are Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and Title II
of the ADA. The mission of OSERS is to improve early childhood,
educational, and employment outcomes and raise expectations for all people
with disabilities, their families, their communities, and the nation.OSERS is responsible for administering theIndividuals with Disabilities
Education Act of 2004(IDEA).

For more information about OCR
and the anti-discrimination laws that it enforces, please visit its website and follow OCR
on twitter @EDcivilrights. For more information about OSERS and IDEA, please
visit its website and follow
OSERS on twitter @ed_sped_rehab.

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